When I first read about the book's impending publication, I
thought it must be a sort of jokeitem. Remembering the Cultural
Revolution, one tends to think about political
terror, acts of terrible and confusing cruelty, social destruction and material
privation, rather than cuisine.

During the Cultural Revolution

But Sasha Gong, a Chinese-born
American academic whose family was relocated
from Guangzhou to Hunan province during the Cultural Revolution,
significantly interrupting her schooling, has in this handsome, beautifully
written and sensibly priced book, transformed proverbial lemons into lemonade
as she tells the story of learning by necessity to live, cook and eat simply in the countryside, growing, preparing
and sharing pure, good and traditional food.

Ihave been cooking from the excellent,
delicious recipes in this book non-stop and I am pleased to present you with one of Ms. Gong's
simplest, easiest and best meals. If you want, you can elaborate on it
by adding minced or sliced ginger, hot chilies or various types of pickled
vegetables . It's splendid as is, however, and the title of this post,
explained in the text following the recipe -- "As
clear as tofu and scallions" -- used as a simile for integrity or
flattering sobriquet -- is an image I understand and find very moving.

Tofu

Tofu
With Scallions and Sesame Dressing

Ingredients

1 scallion1 cake firm tofu (bean curd)2 tsp. sesame oilPinch of salt

Tofu was invented in 164 BC by
a Chinese nobleman trying to make medicine, and it has taken its rightful place as
a major source of protein in the Chinese diet. This amazingly simple dish is incredibly tasty,
low in fat and high in protein. Use a firm bean curd to make it because
it will hold its shape better this way.

Shred the scallion into very
small pieces, cutting it on the bias to maximize surface area. Rinse the tofu and place it on a microwave-safe serving plate.

Warm it by microwaving
it on high for one minute, or simply heating it very gently in a conventional
oven.

Remove the tofu from the oven, and with a sharp knife or cleaver, cut it up into small pieces about 1 ½ inches (4
cm.) long, an inch (2.5 cm.) wide and about ½ inch (about 1.5 cm.) thick.

Sprinkle the scallion, sesame oil
and salt
on top of the tofu pieces and serve while still warm.

Note: There were obviously no
microwaves in the Chinese countryside during the Cultural Revolution, nor
did peasants have convection ovens. They would simply have soaked the tofu – which would have
been freshly
made – in
hot water for 10 minutes to heat it up.

Sesame

“Supreme Instruction –

‘ Struggle against selfishness and criticize revisionism’”

During the Cultural Revolution, people were often accused of offenses, from stealing or engaging in extra-marital
affairs to slacking off or having “bad thoughts.” Meetings of
village production teams were forums for dispute resolution where people were
often compelled to criticize themselves or defend themselves against such
accusations. A good defense was to
proclaim one’s loyalty and demonstrate knowledge of communist doctrine, with whatever
rhetorical flourishes one could muster.

This dish – its milky white bean curd a sharp contrast to the deep green of its scallions – provided a useful metaphor. If
your innocence was ‘as clear as tofuand scallions,” then anyone ought to be able to appreciate it.

Iconfess a deep and profound love for Chinese bean curd. Although it is fine in this country, especially
when it is freshly made, it is out of this world in China.

Thinking about bean curd, which I probably do an abnormal amount,
brings to mind the final testament of
the Chinese poet Qu Qiubai, imprisoned and then executed by the Kuomitang because he was too ill to depart on
the October 1934 Long
March. One of his final acts was composing a goodbye
note, "Some Superfluous
Words," which after praising flowers,
moonlightand factory chimneys, concluded by
recommending "Anna
Karenina" and "The Dream of the Red Chamber" and stating, last of
all, that "the Chinese bean curd is the most delicious food in the whole
world. Goodbye and
farewell!."

7 comments:

What a way to begin (almost begin) the day. Thank you. Off to an early seminar in the city on an icy morning soon. A terrific send-off. By the way, you should definitely acquire the book. It's just terrific. Curtis

Wonderful. I'm mostly vegetarian so your revelation about Chinese bean curd makes me want to take a trip to China.

There is a Chinese restaurant on 38th Street in Manhattan (between 5th & Madison or Madison & Lexington, I keep forgetting which) that serves a dish which is simply dried tofu and baby celery. Sauteed and with a touch of hot chilies. I used to have an office on 5th and 37th and went there for that dish almost once a week. Now I get there whenever I can.

Although I'm not a lover of bean curd (despite trying to acquire a taste), your engrossing and compelling post has encouraged me to try one more time! Hoping the seminar went well and that the ice has melted. Nell

The bean curd in China is a thing apart -- a whole other sensation. There's a silkiness combined with a particular density and a delicious flavor that's really unbelievable. It's not simply autosuggestion and one finds this in Hong Kong and the People's Republic also. The NYC restaurant sounds dish sounds great. I first read Qu Qiubai's quote about 20 years ago (or more) in a book review. It haunted me and it took me a while to track it down but I knew I needed to. The only other time I've gone to that much effort was to find Julie Sahni's recipe for Macao Fried Rice (posted here a while ago). It's essentially a quick paella. We're largely vegetarian and are trying to become even more so. Stressful day here. Hope everyone else here is happy and well. Curtis

Joan, thanks for writing. I visited your blog and will spend more time there later when I've cleared away the mess left on my desk following a week of crisis, which was brightened by your nice note. Please visit here again soon. I do post recipes and food-related items, but also on various other subjects. I try to keep it interesting. Curtis